World economic growth will slow from 3.1% in 2022 to 2.2% next year, recovering to 2.7% in 2024, according to the latest OECD forecasts published today.

With the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, "growth is at a standstill, high inflation is persistent, confidence has eroded and uncertainty is high," says the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in the document.

"The world economy is experiencing its worst energy crisis since the 1970s," according to the OECD's chief economist, Álvaro Santos Pereira, quoted by Lusa.

"The energy shock has pushed inflation to levels not seen for several decades and is depressing growth around the world," said the former economy minister.

Price increases are expected to average 8% this year in the G20 countries, which include the world's major economies, before falling back to 5.5% in 2023 and 2024, according to the organization's projections.

Santos Pereira explains that the most likely scenario predicted by the OECD "is not a global recession, but a strong slowdown in the world economy in 2023, with inflation still high but declining in many countries".

To overcome the crisis, the OECD, an organization of 38 countries, developed and some emerging, advocates "further tightening of monetary policy to combat inflation", while saying that "budgetary support must become more targeted and temporary".

"Accelerating investment to adopt and develop clean energy sources and technologies will be crucial to diversifying supply and ensuring energy security," said the economist.